General Question

Why do dogs like to follow you into the bathroom?

My dog would stop whatever he’s doing or whomever he’s following, just to be in the bathroom while I’m showering. Is this a common behavior in dogs? Do they find the sound of water comforting? Do they like to sniff the steam from the tap water? Or is it the shampoo scent? I’m perplexed.

So I always crack the bathroom door open, just so he could pop in and plop himself on the clean rug.

30 Answers

I thought it was only my baby Jade who did that!! She follows me into the bathroom, settles on the rug and waits for Mummy to re-appear out of the shower, and then follows me out again. No idea why she does it, I just thought my baby loved her Mummy, it’s so cute though. She’s a devoted wee lamb.

My dog doesn’t follow me right into the bathroom (she’s afraid I might put her in the bath) but she will sit at the top of the stairs to wait for me. I think she just wants to know where everyone is. It’s herding behaviour – keep the (human) pack together.

My cats do that too, I think that with me it is because when I close the bathroom door, they start getting curious to know what is happening inside so everytime I go there, they run to me so that the door isn’t closed before they can get in with me.

My Moms dog follows her EVERYWHERE around the house. He doesn’t really like being away from her to much. He gets very protective of her too. He truly loves her. He loves me too but not even close to how much he loves Mama =P

Could it be called loss depression? Our Border Collie follows us everywhere in the house. Even into the bathroom. Usually, around 12 pm, we take our showerws and prepare to leave for the night. Mikey gets so uptight, that he actually walks between our legs, when we walk.

My dog doesn’t do that, but my male cat does. Sometimes it seems like he stalks me… He actually gets between the shower liner and the shower curtain and stares at me while I shower. When I take a bath, he sits on the edge of the tub and alternates between staring at me and drinking my bathwater. I swear he’s a man in a cat suit.

I’m guessing it’s for the olfactory fireworks. To your dog, the scent of your soap, your shampoo, and your deodorant are all part of your scent profile. Being in the bathroom while you’re slathering all that stuff on must be like getting a massive hit of “eau de you”.

My dogs follow me absolutely everywhere in the house. I automatically leave the bathroom door open so they can follow me. Then they lie on the rug until I have had my shower.
I think they do it to keep the pack together.

My dog waits for me outside my restroom door, I’m sure she’d be happy to come right in if I let the door open. Sadly I don’t live by myself so I cant really do that :/ after she’ll follow me into my room and sniff my legs, my towel, my clothes…anything she can get her nose close to lol..

The dog follows me everywhere. If I go into the bedroom to lie down, he always manages to be in the center of it before I can get there. He comes into the bathroom, but leaves when he sees I’m not doing anything new, and he’s afraid of the shower.

One cat tries to predict where I’m going – and if by chance it’s the garage – heaven! The bathroom is a fine place for her to strut her stuff and get petted.

The other cat – who doesn’t seem to like me – scurries out of the way like I’m holding meat cleavers and breathing fire whenever I go near him. Yet when I take a shower, I come out to find him curled at the bottom of the door.

The Amazon squawks if my SO takes a shower without her She also squawks on rare occasions when I shower, though I never invite her (the Amazon) in.

Milo’s latest fetish is drinking water off the surface of the tub. Several times a day we rendez-vous in the bathroom, I pour 4 glasses of cold water onto the tub floor. Milo then gives an annoying meow, puts one paw gingerly down on the tub floor and then leaps in.

He laps the water up and generally ignores the fresh water bowls I have scattered around the kitchen and dining room.

They just want to be with you.
Although I did have a cat that liked to play in the shower when I was done or play with bubbles from my daughters bath tub when she was little.
I swear it was part Turkish Van

I agree with @thorninmud
I do believe that it’s the smell of the perfume soap and it’s also a comfort factor kinda feelung like you get when you give your mother a hug and she has her own scent. Also the bathroom is like a den. What’s better, smell like the favourite pal and have that family kinda feeling while we’re at it.

My cat knows that if I’m going to use the potty, I’ll be sitting and will be able to pet him. He also likes to lick the water in the bottom of the shower. My friend’s cat, who I often babysit, does the same thing. They just like to be near you, where ever you are.

Dr. Dredd. you are correct. my vet states that dogs and animals in general, have loss depression. Your animal observes your daily actions and realizes that you are about to leave them. Some animals will do strange things to help keep you home with them.

every time i go to the toilet my labrador will lay down and wait for me outside the door, it doesnt matter where she is or what shes doing if she sees me heading to the loo i can hear her laying down the other side of the door. she doesnt follow me any where else, just when i go into the loo. does anyone no why she would do this?